Brick-lifter.



R. C. PENFIELD.

BRICK LIFTER.

APPUCATION FILED JAN.31,1911.

Patented May 7,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEETI R.C. PENFIELD.

BRICK LIFTER.

` APPLLCATON FILED IAN. 3l. 19|:- 1,265,106. Patented May 7,1918.

i. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- A UNITED sri/.rains PATENT onnron;

'The apparatus. of, my

`plane of their`lowermost :RAYMOND e. rnurrnnn, `or new ToilZZ/wwm it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAYMoNn C. Pnwrrenn, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York, county of N. Y., and State of New York, have invented an- Improvement in Brick-Lifters, of which the following description, in conneeti n with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on thedrawings representing like parte.

My present invention is an improved apparatus for the handling of bricks in stacked units of the type shown in-my prior Patent No. 1,205,562, and the object of the invention is to improve and perfect brick litters of that t pe. I Y

yIn my development of automatic brick lifters or setters adapted to handling large masses of stacked brick, such as in the setting of green brick in driers and kilns, or in the handling of the burned brick, it is very important to have the apparatus lift, transport, and release, a unit stack ot' brick without disturbing the formation or said stack. To this end I have devised.-ap.paratus as shown in my said patent, having a. plurality of brick engaging fingers extending rigidly under the brick and being liftedv position irrespective sliding framework. said prior patent worked satisfactorily where the brick were piled evenly, but if the rows or courses of a unit stack were uneven in the horizontal surface, the said distort the stack engaging meer and held in horizontal of the load, through a prior apparatus was apt to somewhat because the brick bers were rigidly lconnected and when lifted maintained the same horizontal plane. In my present brick lifter I have obviated the ditiiculty just noted by providing automatic means which would enable each brick engaging arml or finger to adjust itself and conscquently adjust the entire briclClitting apparatus, to the configurationof the lower line of the brick stack, irrespective otthe different settling or parte of said stack. This is |.art1cularly necessary in the case of a burned brick stack, as, during the burning, unevenly. Thus, if a brick stack, whether of green brick or burned brick, was piled unevenly, or had settled unevenly, giving a somewhat wavy line to the lower courses, my present brick lifter would permit each of the'lifting members to yield and thus accommodate the BRICK-LFTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led January 31, i917.

iron-in, nf.

Patented May 7, 1918. sei-iai No. 14ste?.

height ofv said lifting members to the. wavmg or 'uneven surface or the bricks engaged thereby.` Therefore, the entire stack would be lifted, transported, and released without the slightest disturbing or distorting of the stacked bricks, even though the latter had' settled or was piled unevenly throughout. In the present apparatus I have employed the sliding frame feature of my said prior patent, and the four-point suspension feature which maintains the brick lifting appa ratus level irrespective of whether loaded or unloaded. I may also utilize, with the present individually yielding brick lifting member or finger, any of the gripping devices to engage vroundatimi row of brick on which the stack may rest, which foundation row is spaced to receive a, lifting linger, said devices not being herein illustrated.

Further features of the invention, novel combinations of parts, and details of COI1- struction, will be hereinafterA more fully pointed out and claimed.

Referring to the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment". of the invention,

Figure l is a front View of my brick lifter;

Fig. 2 is a side view showing one of the independently yielding brick engaging arms or lingers in its lowermost position.

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus comprises an upper portion adaptedto be connected with the lifting crane and preferably through a turntable connection, and a .hook or eye members .il and 1l bolted thereto, which members are the forward lifting hails or links -for the apparatus. Corre spending lifting links 12 are bolted directly.

to the plate 8 and rearmost arm 6, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. Braces 13,' 13 extend 'troni the plate l to the upper portions of the frame 6. The. l'xorizontal plate i. is perforated at a number of places throughout its length to permit the passage of depending rods 14, 14, 14. Each rod has a cap 15 ttin thereover and a pair of check nuts 16 van 17 threaded onto the top of the rod, holding said caps in relative position thereto and each bearing upon an expansible spring manner.

18 coiled about said rod and resting on the top of the plate 1. Each lrod 14: is connected with the lower or yielding finger to be described, and a normal tension of the spring 18 is adapted to hold said lingers in their uppermost position, `while permitting a downward yield under load. Each lifting finger being independently supported and controlled by the respective springs thus gives an independently lifting and yielding action for each linger.

Adjacent eachrod 14 where the saine passes through a hole in the plate 1, is se cured a hollow sleeve 2G, by a bracket 21 sef cured to the plate 1`by bolts 22, 22. l prefer to Jform the late 1 with a lug 23 adjacent each of said brackets 21, so as to provide a guide and a rigid joint to facilitate assembling and increase delineated in Fig. 2. Each linger comprises a hollow castingy 25 having a central recess adapted to lit over and slide loosely on the sleeve 20, said casting carrying` e forwardly extending lifting member or linger 26. rlfhis linger 26 is preferably secured to the castin 25 by means of flanges 27 and 28 at one en which by bolts 29 and 30, or in any other suitable This enables the lifting lingers 26 to be quickly replaced if one is brokenand also provides an interchangeable construe tion of parts which will facilitate assembling the apparatus and minimize cost of manu facture. To counterbalance the linger 26 l provide a weight 31 secured to the casting 25 by a lug;r 32 and pinl 33 (see Fi 2). This balanced construction is. desira le, as the entire casting 25 slides upon the sleeve 20 and insures automatic self-seatingof each of the fingers 26 against the lower rows of the brick stack to be lifted',"ivithout binding or alecting the sliding action of the other lingers inthe apparatus. To still further facilitate this sliding movement, l prefer to have roller bearings ing 25, as clearly shown in dotted lines at 3e, 35, and 36, Fig. 1, said rollers bein properly litted to bear upon the outer sur ace of the sleeve 20.

Each rod 14 extending within the hollow sleeve 20, has its lowermost end portion 37 formed as an eye and engaging the shaft or pin 38, which extends through slots 39 and 40 in the walls of the sleeve 20 so that said pin rigidly engages the casting 25. Thus the entire weight of the casting 25, ngers 26, and ccunterpoise 31 is sustained by the upward thrust of the spring 18 through said rod la, normally holding the same at the upward limit permitted by the slots 39 and carry its proportionate the strength, as clearly Aflanges are secured to the casting tted within the cast--l insonne 40. Adjustment of the nuts 16 and 17 determines the power of the spring 18.

ln the operation of the apparatus it is swung into position adjacent a brick stack, said stack being piled on studs, beams, or a foundation. row of brick which are spaced to permit the sliding through of the lingers 26 under the stack. The apparatus is then lifted and each individual lifting finger 26 engages the bottom of the brick stack; which stackis indicated roughly in clot-ted lines at d1, Fig. 2, the spring 18 for each of said lifting lingers permitting an individual selfseating of each linger upon that portion of the stack engaged by it, irrespective of the horizontal plane of the lower stack surface. lit is intended that the tension of each spring 18 will be sufficient to enable its linger 26 to share of load before the shaft 38 strikes the lowermost limit of the slots 39 and d0 through which it passes, although in case of overload,V the limit af forded by said slots would prevent the castn ing 25 from sliding entirely oli the sleeve 20. By having each individual lifting finger 26 thus separately and yieldingly supported, the unit of brick lifted by my apparatus, will be held intact irrespective of the diil'erent settling of the brick throughout its length, as will be readily appreciated, and therefore the entire unit thus lift ed and transported may be released without distorting the stack. The lifter,` autof inaticallyV accommodates itself tothe stack to be lifted instead of, as in prior lifters,l;

making the lower plane of the stack conn form to the lane of the lifting fingers. As above exp ained, in the case of burned brick alter they are being taken from a kiln, the uneven settling throughout the kiln presents a varied or wavy horizontal surface in the lower part of each unit lifted.

My invention is further described and dened in the form of claims as follows:

1. Apparatus of the class described having provision to engage and lift a plurality of bricks in stacked formation, by engaging the vbottom of the stack, comprising a plurality of horizontally positioned lifting lin.- gers adapted to be positioned'under the bottom said stack and automatic means to control the liftin force of each finger independently of al other lingers.

2. Apparatus of the kind described, comprising a. lifting frame, a plurality of later,n ally extending lifting lingers carried by said frame adapted to be positioned/under the bottom of the stack, yielding; connections between said rame and eac of said lingers, whereby the initial lifting move- 'ment of the frame automatically actuates said yielding members independently of each other and automatically conforms the liiting lingers to the uneven surface of the bottom of the sta/ck to be lifted. l

las

prislng a lifting frame, a plurality of laty erally extending lifting fingers carried by said frame adapted to be positioned under the bottom of the stack, yielding connections. betweensaid frame and each .of said lingers, providing an automatic independently self-seating of each finger on the adjacent part of the stack.

L4. Apparatus of the kind described, com prising a vertically extending lifting frame, `lurality of laterally extending lingers, in ependent connections for each linger with said liftin frame, permitting an 1ndependent relatlve sliding. movement be tween each finger and said frame, and means to substantially balance the weight of each linger on the moving portions.

5. Apparatus of the class described adapted to lift a stack of brick having the lower surface of the` stack in an uneven plane without disturbing the said stack, comprising a. lifting frame, means to maintain said frame in horizontal position, means to engage the bottom portion of the stack -at a plurality 'of points, and automatic means to conform said pluralit vices with the uneven p ane of the bottom of the stack engaged thereby.

In testimony whereof, I ave signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribin witnesses.

RAYlOND C. PENFIELD. A Witnesses:

C. P. MERTENS, F. L. HOPLEY.

of engaging de- 

